This summer, Fischer and his troupe return with a second Mozart–Da Ponte opera, Le nozze di Figaro, in a staging that promises to be comparably beguiling. As last time, Fischer acts as impresario—directing and conducting. For the conductor, Figaro provides the opportunity to consider transformation manifest in the Beaumarchais play and Mozart opera: the society of the ancien régime and individual identity. Costumes are key, as signifier and metaphor. Fischer says, “Dress is the main tool to change identity. So I have decided to separate the singers from their costumes. And because dress assumes central focus, the performance will begin as a concert and then, eventually, be dressed up as an opera.” playbillarts.com